1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a portable communication device such as a mobile telephone, and in particular to a method for managing displayed information to allow easy operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mobile telephone such as a cellular phone or a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) terminal has been widely used. The mobile telephone preferably reduces in size and weight with an eye to its portability and is preferably multifunctional and intelligent. In general, a multifunctional and intelligent mobile telephone burdens its user with complicated operations, resulting in impaired operability. In the case of a mobile telephone having a phonebook function, for example, the larger the number of registered records, the more the time required for searching.
There have been proposed several techniques to improve the operability of a mobile telephone. Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 10-124530 discloses a method for searching a large amount of data for target data. More specifically, when a user selects the nearest one to the target data from headings displayed on screen, the data number of the selected heading is set to an index I existing in a processor. Then, each time a next screen is desired, a predetermined number of headings with the center of the index I are displayed on screen together with the respective index numbers.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 10-136075 discloses a method for accessing a target entry of a set of data. More specifically, when a character is selected, the set of data is searched for an entry including the selected character. If such an entry is found, the entry is displayed on screen and, if necessary, the entry is allowed to be corrected by the user. Then, the set of data is repeatedly searched for the found entry or the corrected entry as described above until the target entry has been found.
An object of the present invention is to provide a displayed information management method that can achieve easy operation of a multifunctional and intelligent device
According to the present invention, a method for managing information in a portable communication apparatus including a memory, an input device, and a display, the method comprising the steps of:
a) selecting data from a set of data according to a desired condition inputted through the input device:
b) adding a sequential index number to each piece of selected data, wherein the sequential index number is not greater than a maximum number of lines displayable on the display:
c) displaying each piece of the selected data accompanied with a sequential index number on the display; and
d) selecting a desired piece of selected data by inputting a sequential index number accompanying the desired piece of selected data through the input device.
The input device preferably includes a ten-key pad which is used to input a sequential index number to select a desired piece of selected data. The sequential index number may be a number corresponding to a key of the ten-key pad.
The set of data may be a phonebook which retrievably contains a plurality of phone data records, each of the phone data records including a plurality of data items.
The selected data may be a set of phone data records retrieved from the phonebook according to a desired keyword, wherein data items of the selected phone data records corresponding to the desired keyword are displayed as headings. A desired one of the data items of the selected phone data records is selected by inputting a sequential index number accompanying the desired one through the input device, so that all data items of a phone data record including the desired one are displayed on the display.
The set of data may be function menu information which retrievably contains a plurality of functions. The selected data is a set of functions retrieved from the function menu information according to a desired keyword. A desired function of the selected functions is selected by inputting a sequential index number accompanying the desired one through the input device, so that the desired function is executed.
According to anoterh aspect of the present invention, a method for managing information in a portable communication apparatus including a memory, an input device, and a display, the method comprising the steps of:
selecting data from a set of data according to a desired condition inputted through the input device;
determining whether a number of pieces of selected data is not greater than a maximum number of lines displayable on the display;
when the number of pieces of selected data is greater than the maximum number of lines displayable on the display, dividing the selected data Into a plurality of pages each containing a number of pieces of selected data which is not greater than the maximum number of lines displayable on the display;
sequentially selecting a page from the plurality of pages through the input device;
adding a sequential index number to each piece of selected data in a selected page;
displaying each piece of the selected data accompanied with a sequential index number in the selected page on the display; and
selecting a desired piece of selected data by inputting a sequential index number accompanying the desired piece of selected data through the input device.
As described above, according to the present invention, the selected data is indexed and displayed on the display. Therefore, a user can easily obtain a desired piece of data by directly selecting an index number corresponding to the desired piece of displayed data through the input device. Even if the portable communication apparatus becomes more intelligent and multifunctional, the user can easily operate such a portable communication apparatus, so that mistakes are avoided and the time required for necessary operation is reduced.